ABSTRACT

This chapter provides an understanding of the links between practice and policies in spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) education in primary schooling in the Netherlands and Britain. It includes findings from a small-scale research study in English and Dutch schools designed to investigate, illustrate and compare the practical realities of teaching a SMSC curriculum with case studies of good practice. In Dutch primary schools, however, the key issues are housed in 'social and environmental studies', which also covers geography, history, biology, citizenship, road safety and political studies. Instances of good practice from primary schools in both England and the Netherlands illustrate that schools have their own distinctive philosophies and pedagogies. The chapter provides an overview of primary policy and practice in the education systems of the Netherlands and England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, SMSC falls within the provision of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education.